head to head
vs
Elite DangerousvsSalt and Sanctuary
Elite Dangerous leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Salt and Sanctuary leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Elite DangerousSalt and Sanctuary
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 6
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads2 vs 2
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 2
Elite Dangerous leans harder on variance: Procedural galaxy, mission variance
Optimization8 vs 7
Elite Dangerous leans harder on optimization: Ship build, trade routes, engineering grind
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.